


Moon Shadow

by Xelkyrien



Series: Black Hole Sun [1]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Betrayal, Dark Magic, Dark Rapunzel, F/M, Gen, Hurt, Internal Conflict, Mental Anguish, Moon Rapunzel, Moondrop | Moonstone Opal (Disney), painful transformation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-23 11:23:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20891318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xelkyrien/pseuds/Xelkyrien
Summary: Cassandra's play for the Moonstone fails and Rapunzel claims it as planned. Now the ray of sunshine has become lost on the dark side of the moon. With a war raging in her head between the two magical forces will what's left of the sundrop be able to banish the darkness of the moon or will the moonstone snuff out the light of the sun? And what will become of Rapunzel and her friends as these celestial powers battle within her?





	Moon Shadow

**Author's Note:**

> So... This is still kind of rough. I'll probably refine it a bit more later, but for now I wanted to get it posted before the new season starts.  
I plan on continuing this at some point, but we'll see. Just a fair warning though: This series is probably going to get pretty dark. Read at your own risk.

The Moonstone was finally within reach.  
After some last heartfelt words with one of her closest friends and her boyfriend Rapunzel slowly made her way down the narrow path to where the Moonstone rested. As she approached the web of crystal that held the gem fell away and the Moonstone floated upwards to meet her. She smiled, reaching for the gleaming gem, joy, excitement and nervousness all bubbling up inside her heart until the emotions overflowed. She had been through a lot to get here, to unravel this mystery and discover what fate had in store for her.  
She couldn’t have gotten through any of it without her friends.  
Cassandra, Eugene, Pascal, Max, Lance and even Adira. Each and every one of them helped her on her journey and stuck by her side regardless of how tough things got. She thought back to the time when she had sent Eugene to the mountains during the blizzard, so worried he may never come back. He had come back though, proving that he was right about being the man for the job. She thought about Pascal and his willingness to sacrifice himself to get the Demanitus Device working and save Corona. He had survived, but barely. She thought about Cass when Zhan Tiri’s tree had been coming down around them. Her friend had gotten hurt trying to save her when she didn’t need saving, but she was grateful none-the-less.  
They had all been through so much and it culminated in this moment. Rapunzel closed her fingers around the Moonstone, hearing a crash somewhere behind her as she did. She wanted to glance back and see what was going on but she wasn’t given the chance. With the Moonstone in her hand pain shot up her arm like a bolt of lightning. Though it burned it was somehow ice cold and it brought with it a darkness the likes of which she could barely comprehend. The pain coursed through her body, chilling her to the core. The princess saw a bright blue flash of like, heard herself screaming, and was finally enveloped by darkness.

* * *

Eugene stood several feet behind Rapunzel on the narrow stone pathway, with Pascal on his shoulder and Cassandra a few feet behind him. If he had learned anything over the course of their adventures it was that magic needed room to work. You had to give it space or you’d be beyond lucky if you only came away from it with singed eyebrows. So as much as he wanted to be right there next to her, holding her hand, giving her reassurances, he stayed back and granted her and the Moonstone the time they needed to fulfill destiny.  
It was out of the corner of his eye that he noticed Cassandra moving forward. His eyes widened as she rushed past him. Eugene took action immediately, not thinking it through and simply tackling the armor clad woman to keep her from doing whatever foolish thing she seemed so intent on doing. After all, he may not like Cassandra but his girlfriend did and he knew Rapunzel would be heartbroken if the ravenette were to perish in a magical explosion.  
“What were you thinking?!” the former thief demanded of the young warrior as they skidded to a halt at the edge of the bridge. Eugene had Cassandra pinned. She struggled against him, trying to get free, thrashing violently against his hold. Through her fighting she snarled and growled up at him, “I need that opal!”  
Surprise took over Eugene’s features and he faltered. Cassandra took this opportunity to tear her arm free and punch him, her fist connecting with the side of his head and knocking him off of her. He fell back, sliding across the bridge and narrowly avoiding falling over the edge as the traitorous warrior got to her feet.  
They both froze when they heard the screaming.  
Though his head was still reeling from the blow he fixed his gaze on platform at the end of the bridge. What he saw made his blood run cold.  
Rapunzel had the Moonstone clenched tightly in her fist, rays of blue light shining out between he fingers with increasing intensity. Her agonized keening filled the entire chamber, reverberating off the crystalline walls. Long, wild blond hair whipped out in all directions as though caught in a whirlwind and after a few moments of staring Eugene saw something that sent a shiver down his spine: an inky blackness was creeping in from the tips, working its way up her hair until the stunning golden locks more closely resembled an oil slick.  
Then, suddenly, the former thief wondered if they had been transported underwater. The black tendrils had ceased their frantic movements and were now lazily shifting and flowing. The gleaming of the Moonstone had winked out, casting the room in near darkness which caused everything to take on a blue hue in the low light. He could easily believe they were now in the depths of the ocean… if it weren’t for the screaming. Rapunzel continued to shriek, her cries seeming enough louder now than they had before.  
Eugene began to get to his feet, fighting through the pounding in his head and the throbbing of his eardrums. Before he managed to get very far, a blinding flash of blue burst forth from the Moonstone like a supernova.  
The blast was powerful enough to rock the castle, dislodging some of the rocks from the wall and knocking the doors of the chamber right off their hinges. One rebounded off the wall and fell into the abyss below while the other was flung partway out of the room, coming to rest on the stone head in the doorway. Eugene had been thrown back across the bridge and barely escaped be the end of the door that was still in the room crushing him. The magical explosion has sent Cassandra, as the only one that had actually been standing, flying through the open doorway into the far wall of the room beyond where she crumbled to the ground. Eugene didn’t spare the perfidious woman another thought, instead turning his attention to the woman he loved, desperate to see her in one piece after that blast.  
His brown eyes scanned the room for Rapunzel as the castle gave another violent quake, eventually landing on a dark shape curled up on the platform at the far end of the bridge. The newly appointed prince ran to her with as much speed as her could muster after receiving a concussion and being blown up, ignoring the now-steady tremors rattling the ground he was dashing across. He dropped to his knees next to her when he reached her, stretching his hands towards her prone form but hesitating at the last minute. Rapunzel was laying curling up in the fetal position, her face buries in the floor. Jet-black hair was pooled all around her (but thankfully no longer moving of its own accord) and she seemed almost ill, her skin as pale as the moon. Carefully, as though she may shatter under his touch, Eugene resting his hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle shake.  
“Blondie?” he asked hesitantly, barely audible over the rumbling of the building around them. When she didn’t even acknowledge him he tried again, giving her another shake and asking, “Rapunzel?”  
His concern only grew as his attempts continue to fail to elicit a response from the motionless girl. Eugene decided to change tactics and attempted to roll her only her back. She went easily, offering as much resistance as a ragdoll. The sight of her caused the former rogue’s expression to shift from concerned to surprised to horrified.  
Rapunzel’s dark hair had fallen away from her face as she was turned over, revealing that she was not, in fact, unconscious and that her eyes were still open. What gazed up at him, however, was not the glittering emerald he was accustomed to but what looked like an endless black void, deep and dark and frigid. It seemed to chill his very soul and he had to take a moment to recover.  
After he managed to pull himself together again concern flooded back into his features. Chocolate eyes met onyx orbs and he saw the tears streaming down from them, disappearing into her raven hair. She was weeping and yet she remained completely still and silence, like a corpse. Her right hand was clutched tightly to her chest in a fist, maintaining a death grip on the magical artifact that did this to her. The distraught man scooped her up, bringing his girlfriend into his arms and hugging her to his chest. She was cold to the touch. He tangled a hand in her long hair and resting his head atop hers, holding her as close as he could without risking breaking her.  
“Please, Rapunzel. You need to wake up. I need you to wake up. Come back to me. Please…” Eugene pleaded, desperation and worry in his voice. The girl in his arms gave no indication that she even heard his words, remaining completely unresponsive. The only way he could tell she was still alive was the barely perceptible rise and fall of her chest and she took too-shallow breathes.  
“We need to go! Now!” a female voice that could only have been Adira shouted from behind him over the rumbling of the collapsing castle. It broke him out of his melancholy and he finally took in what was happening around him. The prince regarded his kingdom. Large chucks of stone were cascading down from the walls into the pit below and the entire building was shaking violently. Eugene looked down at the woman in his arms, a look of determination crossing his face. He got to his feet, careful not to drop Rapunzel, then turned and ran for the dooway.  
The fallen statue still blocked exit but the door that had been knocked down in the Moonstone’s explosion now acted as a ramp, providing a quick way out of the crystal chamber. He quickly hopped down and kept running, sparing a glance at his friends to make sure they were all there. He caught a glimpse of the still unconscious Cassandra flung over Adira’s shoulder and kept running. Despite the tension between the two Adira had still saved her. He half wanted to leave Cassandra here to be crushed by falling debris after what she’d tried to do, but a part of his mind that sounded distinctly like Rapunzel was telling him that that would be wrong. He would still have to tell everybody about the woman’s betrayal, but that would have to wait until they were all safe.

* * *

The group didn’t stop running until they’d made it out of the dark kingdom, finally coming to rest near the remains of their caravan. Eugene told the group about what had happened once they’d all managed to catch their breathes and they unanimously decided to keep Cassandra restrained, Adira digging around the pieces of the caravan until she came away with a chain. She attached one end around the traitor’s wrists and wrapped the other end around one of the black rocks.  
Eugene held Rapunzel until he was certain Cassandra was no longer a threat. Now with her chained to the unbreakable rocks the prince without a kingdom set down his ailing princess in the most comfortable place he could find, regarding the catatonic girl sadly. The others hovered awkwardly for a moment, staring at the couple, before deciding to give them space. Lance, Adira, Max and Fidella busied themselves repairing the destroyed caravan while King Edmund lingered near his son. He gave Eugene’s shoulder a sympathetic squeeze before going off to help with the repairs. That left only Eugene and Pascal by Rapunzel’s side, the latter still sitting on the former’s shoulder, both gazing down at the unresponsive girl with sorrow in their eyes.  
The former thief reached out to Rapunzel and took her cold hand in his, rubbing soothing circles on the back of her palm with his thumb. His eyes widened when he saw her finally move; her right hand drew away from her chest and she finally released her death grip, revealing the jewel in her palm. The once vibrant and colorful Moonstone was now dull and dark, devoid of its dazzling blue glow. As he watched it the stone seemed to crumble to dust, blowing away in a gust of wind he couldn’t feel. 

**Author's Note:**

> I've been pretty upset with Cassandra since the whole tree incident. I get that she's upset because she got injured and because Rapunzel didn't listen to her but as far as I can tell that was really her own fault. She was tied up like everybody else in the tree and she clearly couldn't reach the spear. She only managed to get to it after Rapunzel had started killing the tree with the Decay Spell and she got free of the tree. She stayed even after Rapunzel told them all to leave and tried to grab her when she was still clearly full of death magic. Sure she was trying to save her and it was a nice gesture, but Rapunzel was always the one of them in the least amount of danger since her magic instinctively protects her from fatal drops and crumbling structures, so it was really unnecessary for Cassandra to try to save her. I can't really feel bad for her when it's her own decisions that are putting her in a bad place. And Rapunzel is always kind to her and supportive and then when she decided to trust her and listen to her like Cass kept insisting she should she betrays Rapunzel.  
I just can't feel any sympathy for her. Maybe that will change when we find out what was behind the door, but for now I just can't.  
On top of all that I actually can't understand how she managed to steal the stone in the first place. The path was narrow and she was behind Eugene who was a good distance behind Rapunzel. Sure, she looked like she was ready to sprint and Rapunzel was taking her sweet time grabbing that rock but she just sort of appeared there next to her. I also feel Eugene would have stopped her, even if just for the sake of her own safety, when she came charging past him instead of just letting her go.


End file.
